Tailwheel Guide
Chair flying / Crosswind Landing

Crosswind Landing

Side-slip through touchdown so the upwind main wheel arrives first with the longitudinal axis parallel to the runway, then hold the wing down with increasing aileron all the way to a stop.

Guided rehearsal is Premium

Pre-Landing Wind & Surface Check

  1. Wind — direction and velocity from ATIS/AWOS, windsock, and surface signs
    Resolve it into headwind and crosswind components for the runway you intend to use. Gusts matter as much as the steady value — a lull on short final is what leaves you out of control or stalled.
  2. Crosswind component vs. limits — the airplane's demonstrated value ({n:maxDemonstratedCrosswind} kt) and your own
    AFH ch. 14: pilots should be familiar with the crosswind component of each airplane they fly and avoid wind conditions that exceed the capability of the airplane or their own limitations. A tailwheel weathervanes harder than a nose-wheel because more side area sits behind the main gear.
  3. Pick the technique — three-point or wheel landing — and commit before the pattern
    Wheel landings touch down at a higher speed, which keeps the flight controls more effective; many tailwheel pilots prefer them in a crosswind. In some airplanes rudder effectiveness is also reduced with the tail low and on the ground, where the fuselage and flaps blank the tail.
  4. Surface — length, width, slope, condition, and what it does to the rollout
    Soft or rough surfaces slow you without brakes and may need power to keep moving; a soft spot that retards one main wheel can start a swerve. Short/firm surfaces mean a held three-point attitude for aerodynamic braking plus even, firm braking.
  5. Go-around decision set: what you will not accept, and the point you stop trying to salvage it
    Decide now — a large bounce, a drift or crab at touchdown you cannot remove, or a developing swerve means full power and go. Deciding in the flare is deciding too late.
  6. Landing checklist complete; feet on the rudder pedals, heels on the floor, off the brakes
    Heels on the floor with the balls of the feet low on the rudder pedals lets you slide up to the brakes without giving up rudder. Braking during touchdown is how a tailwheel gets on its nose. Once rolling, a swerve is countered with firm rudder first — and in stronger swerves differential braking is essential, since tailwheel steering proves inadequate.

Setup

  1. Crosswind component computed and compared against {n:maxDemonstratedCrosswind} kt and your personal limit“Crosswind check”
    Tailwheel airplanes are less forgiving of crosswind landing errors than nose-wheels, and they weathervane harder because more side area sits behind the main gear.
  2. Choose three-point or wheel landing for the conditions
    Many tailwheel pilots prefer a wheel landing in a crosswind: the higher touchdown speed keeps the flight controls more effective. In some airplanes rudder effectiveness is reduced with the tail low and on the ground, where the fuselage and flaps blank the tail.
  3. Approach at {n:approachSpeed} KIAS — crab or slip on final, your choice, but the crab must be gone before touchdown

Execution

  1. Transition to a side-slip: wing low into the wind, opposite rudder holding the nose straight“Wing low, nose straight”
    The AFH calls the side-slip / wing-low touchdown by far the best approach to crosswind management, because it eliminates both crab and drift at the moment of contact.
  2. Bank whatever it takes to stop the drift — track the centerline, do not merely point at it
    Drift is what you are killing. If you are moving sideways over the ground, add bank; if you are drifting upwind, take some out. Rudder keeps the fuselage aligned regardless.
  3. Hold the slip through the round out and the entire hold-off — do not level the wings“Hold the slip”
    Levelling the wings just before touchdown reintroduces drift at the worst possible moment and puts side loads into the gear, which is exactly what starts directional instability.
  4. Touchdown on the upwind main wheel first“Upwind wheel”
    Landing in this attitude, only one main wheel makes initial contact — in concert with the tailwheel in a three-point landing, or by itself in a wheel landing.
  5. Downwind main settles as speed decays; keep the fuselage aligned with rudder
  6. Elevator full aft once the tailwheel is on the ground“Stick back”

Recovery

  1. Rollout: feed in more aileron into the wind as the airplane slows — end with it fully deflected“More aileron”
    Two things happen at once: less airflow makes the ailerons less effective, and the relative wind becomes more of a crosswind, lifting the upwind wing harder. When the airplane comes to a stop the aileron should be held fully into the wind.
  2. Directional control by rudder and tailwheel steering; expect a weathervaning tendency into the wind
    The mains act as a pivot point with most of the side area behind them. Brakes may be needed when tailwheel steering alone cannot counter the weathervane.
  3. Any swerve: firm rudder now, differential braking if needed, then take the correction out promptly“Swerve — rudder”
  4. If the airplane touches down crabbed or drifting and a swerve builds — go around or stop it early; do not ride it out
  5. Stopped and clear of the landing area before flaps and checklist — no head-down time while rolling

ACS tolerances

  • No drift and no crab at touchdown — longitudinal axis parallel to the direction of travel
  • Upwind main wheel contacts first
  • Centerline maintained through touchdown and rollout
  • Aileron fully into the wind by the time the airplane stops

Common errors

  • Levelling the wings in the flare, reintroducing drift and side-loading the gear
  • Not enough bank, so the airplane touches down drifting downwind
  • Crabbing all the way to touchdown — side loads and immediate directional instability
  • Letting the aileron come back toward neutral during rollout as controls go soft
  • Ignoring the weathervane until it has become a swerve
  • Accepting a crosswind beyond the airplane's demonstrated value or your own limit